


Good morning, midnight

by Dayadhvam



Category: Janelle Monae - Works
Genre: Gen, Radio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1826449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dayadhvam/pseuds/Dayadhvam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We’re live on WDRD Metropolis 105.5—with the Electric Lady herself!” DJ Crash Crash chats with the Electro Phi Betas and Cindi Mayweather before the End of the World Cyber Freak Festival kicks off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good morning, midnight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thesleepingsatellite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesleepingsatellite/gifts).



> The idea of a radio show conversation hinting at the broader droid culture kind of ran away with itself! I based this off “Good Morning Midnight,” “The Chrome Shoppe,” and “Our Favourite Fugitive” from the album _The Electric Lady_ , set later in the day as the Cyber Freak Festival approaches.
> 
> Many thanks to nimmieamee for looking over this!

DJ CRASH CRASH: Good morning, midnight. This is DJ Crash Crash at WDRD, bringing you all the cyber best from the Electro Phi Betas. We’ve got a party tonight, and I got sisters here with the new down-low, owning all their down-low ‘cause it’s no secret to you my friends. What’s jamming, chromies?

ASSATA 8550: This is Assata 8550 again—

ELAINE 1977: —and Elaine 19-double-7 signing in now, while sister Melanie gets stuff polished up right nice. [laughter]

MELANIE 45221: [background] It’s not gonna clean itself! Armstrong knows his chrome.

ASSATA 8550: If you tuned in before, you heard the drill. It’s at the youth auditorium, and by that you oughta know what we actually mean, or ask someone who does. Female Alpha Platinums come on in for free, clones and humans come on in after midnight—

ELAINE 1977: —not for free!

ASSATA 8550: It’s okay, so long s’you bring no chainsaws, bring no electro-daggers—you got no love for bounty hunters, then we got love for you. And even more love for you if you know Chuck Fuck, yeah?

DJ CRASH CRASH: They know Chuck Fuck, they _really_ loving the droid experience then. [laughter]

ASSATA 8550: We’ll have our fun contests, but you’re not listening for that. Here’s your Wondaland line-up—

ELAINE 1977: Nathan Nevermind is gonna open with a bang! Singing “Nathan Nevermind,” but that’s no surprise. Then Adan Be and his band, rapping oil-slick smooth in “Let’s Ride or Die,” and songs from _Flyin in My Car_ if you scream loud enough—so you better scream. I’ll be listening.

ASSATA 8550: After that, we got GianArthur on the Grand Pianotron, serenading us with “I-9000,” and the Arkestra—sorry, the ArchOrchestra—playing a short chill-out session. You’ll need it, ‘cause guess who’s next?

ELAINE 1977: That’s no question.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Woo! Our Lady of the Violet Stars, the Electric Lady Extra-or-din-aire.

ASSATA 8550: No question ‘bout that. So be seeing you. Count on it.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Count on _it_. Power up to you, sisters. And talking of Cindi, let’s put her on. Our next song—

MELANIE 45221: [background rustling] Hey now, pass the mike. I got some polishing and fiddling done. You wanna put on Cindi, here’s Cindi.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Where?

CINDI MAYWEATHER: [static] If it isn’t my favorite DJ from my favorite radio station. You know you wanna ask me a different question.

DJ CRASH CRASH: … Y’all hear that? Can you hear? We’re live on WDRD Metropolis 105.5—with the Electric Lady herself! Cindi, if you weren’t just another voice over the talkie you could see my gears shivering.

MELANIE 45221: That’s a lie, you can’t see any gears poking outta this smartass.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Uh-uh, don’t ruin the moment, don’t ruin it! Ladies and gents, Cindi Mayweather, in all her glory. Bless you Betas. We all gonna hear you sing live tonight.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: You’re awful kind even when you’re poking fun. I’ve been listening on and off while prepping for the show, and let me just say your callers are a real riot. I salute y’all, each and every one.

DJ CRASH CRASH: They’re not all Ninja Bat Leeroy, but they listen for a reason. Or they stop listening to call Droid Control—

ASSATA 8550: And boy don’t they sound staticky over the wires!

ELAINE 1977: Not that we'd know, of course.

ASSATA 8550: 'Course not. [laughter]

DJ CRASH CRASH: Whoa now sisters! A moment of silence for those cold souls. [pause] Anyway, if that’s the case they ain’t found you yet, Cindi.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: Not yet, and I aim to keep it that way long as I can. But Control’s not the only gunk in our gears. There’s more out there than the system wants us to see—I shine brighter whenever another fellow droid sees the big picture and picks out the real wrong bit. A coat of paint done off-shade, a segment out of joint—that’s supposed to be wrong, the little things supposed to be fixed are fixed, and then all’s normal again. So they say. But that’s a lie. All our buffing doesn’t change the fact we’re droids, and the world tells us being a droid’s not on par with a life deserved, a life that loves and gets to be loved. Scrap metal, is that all we’re gonna be?

DJ CRASH CRASH: Hell no.

ASSATA 8550: Hell _no_.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: First time was the closest shave—I went out the window as they busted through the door. Ever since then I’ve met no shortage of droids running the risk of cyber soul flameout to keep my own burning. So I wanted to tap into your show, if that don’t bother you much, and thank all you listeners out there. Passing my name by word of mouth, my music from friend to friend, your thoughts across the city—because of you—

DJ CRASH CRASH: Bother me? No sense, nonsense. We gotta thank _you_ for taking the stand.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: I wasn’t the first one, just the lucky one to move out before Droid Control came down. Remember Star Child P75 back in the day? Making noise too, wonderful noise.

DJ CRASH CRASH: 105.5 put him on all the time. Funky music, neon bright.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: They wound him down, back in the day. A flameout, quiet-like. That’s what I mean to say, though—they catch me, it won’t be quiet-like. They wind me down, it won’t ever be quiet-like. ‘Cause y’all on fire, my stars, and by now they can’t snuff out the flame. We're gonna keep it spreading.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Yes, yes—power up, power up! Time to break the ceiling. Wasn’t meant to be built so low.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: Wasn’t meant to be built.

DJ CRASH CRASH: So it goes, so it goes.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: We’ll see how it goes at the festival tonight. The Electro Phi Betas are gonna throw a fantastic show—

ELAINE 1977: Fantastic elastic plastic show, oh yeah.

MELANIE 45221: Just the way we like it. Us droids got to live our lives.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Oh, no doubt.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: Well, I’ve taken up time enough of yours. You got your own radio show to run.

DJ CRASH CRASH: Your business is droid business and droid business is my business, sister.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: Is that so? ... Well, I’m glad it’s so. Meant to be.

DJ CRASH CRASH: And give my regards to Mr. G. He got a good head on his shoulders, a pair of good eyes to see you and keep true to the Crew.

CINDI MAYWEATHER: Let’s hope you can tell him yourself in the chrome someday. He’d like that.

DJ CRASH CRASH: For sure I will. Any Wolfmasters thinking to get into the show, get at Cindi—

MELANIE 45221: You better watch out. Becky Beatit will make you walk right out, make you lose your mind, and we’ll see you never.

DJ CRASH CRASH: This is WDRD Metropolis 105.5, talking to Cindi Mayweather. Now it’s time to listen—to the Electric Lady.

**Author's Note:**

> Assata 8550 shares her name with [Assata Shakur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assata_Shakur), so I named Elaine 1977 after [Elaine Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Brown), first female chairman of the Black Panther Party (1974-1977). In this broadcast, DJ Crash Crash is back at the Dark Park Metal Shoppe—the chrome shoppe reminds me of the black-run barbershops that served double duty as activist discussion hubs since whites didn’t patronize their businesses. [James Armstrong](http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/James_Armstrong) ran one of them.
> 
> For the Wondaland Jam Authority’s performers, I used the Metropolis 2719 pseudonyms of members of the RL Atlanta-based Wondaland Arts Society, of which Janelle Monae is a co-founder: [Chuck Lightning](http://www.wondaland.com/about/chuck-lightning/) is the cyberporn star Chuck Fuck; [Nate Wonder](http://www.wondaland.com/about/nate-wonder/) is Nathan Nevermind; [Adán Bean](http://www.wondaland.com/about/adam-beane/) (“[Let’s Ride or Die](http://adanbean.bandcamp.com/)”) is Adan Be, who releases his 2719 classic album _Flyin in My Car On a Stormy Day_ ; [Roman GianArthur](http://www.wondaland.com/about/roman-gianarthur/) is GianArthur, inventor of the Grand Pianotron (the imaginary “I-9000” is a nod to his real song “[I-69](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0WBDUIb_Q)”); [Jovian Zayne](http://www.wondaland.com/about/jovian-zayne/) is Becky Beatit; and the ArchOrchestra is a Wondaland music group, itself a tip of the hat to [Sun Ra’s Arkestra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Ra). Star Child P75 refers to George Clinton’s 1975 song “[Mothership Connection (Star Child)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT0P-WbXmf0).” Both Sun Ra and George Clinton were part of the Afrofuturist movement.


End file.
